Nephew Dearest
by Gothika Faerie
Summary: Casper runs away after realizing his uncles don't love him. But after getting drunk and depressed. Not to mention falling into the icy lake. He falls horrifically ill. Will his uncles finally swallow their pride and quit denying the fact they love him?
1. Rebelllion turned Tragedy

Title: Nephew Dearest

Summary: Casper believes his uncles don't give a damn for him so he runs away. But what happens, after a combination of drunkenness, depression and lethargy, when he falls terribly sick? Will his uncles finally swallow their pride and quit denying the fact that they really do love him? Or will Casper be lost from them forever? Inspired by a poem about an abused child. Enjoy!

Genre: Angst/Tragedy

Rated: T for alcohol abuse and depression

A/N: Ok, I want to make it clear that I can't write accented dialogue yet. But I promise to start learning!

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Casper breathed deeply. In and out. It was a pattern he had memorized. It was probably the only option to use to divert his blood from boiling. Although he didn't have any. But if he did he would be hopping mad by now. His uncles, the notorious and rather sadistic Ghostly Trio, have been mowing him down the millisecond he got up. You might think that would have been completely in schedule for Casper but due to puberty, his teenage temper had almost finished being built up and he was really cheesed off when they began another one of those mindless lecture entitled 'Smarten-up-and-lose-the-friendly-act-if-you-know-what's-best-for-you', Now Casper really did love his uncles no matter how chaotic they can be. But there were limitations; even to a friendly ghost. And now he had to make a healthy breakfast for four maniacs who don't care! Casper blanched at that realization. They didn't care. Not for their own living, not Dr. Harvey and Kat or even…_him_. They simply didn't care.

The realization crumbled Casper's heart like a child curiously picking at a stale roll. Tears drizzled from his once gleaming blue eyes. Now they were shadowed over by the horrifying truth of the situation. He felt like one of those abused children he watched on self-help seminars. Suddenly, as though his brain finally clicked together, he perked up. Why was he letting them wrap him around their fingers? He should be rebelling. It would be a huge contrast to his normally sweet and friendly nature but he ought to. It'd serve them right. Casper didn't have long to ponder about how he was going to rebel for suddenly…

"I want it!"

"Well, I **need** it!"

"You had it yesterday and the day before that…"

"You kept interrupting me while I was watching, dope!"

"Well, if you hadn't made me spill the popcorn I wouldn't have to keep coming and going to the fridge, dope!"

"I am **NOT **a dope!"

"Yes, you are,"

"No, I ain't,"

"Yes, you are,"

"Not,"

"Yes,"

"Not,"

"**Yes!!!!"**

"**Not!!!!" **

"**Will you two JUST drop the dang thing now before my head EXPLODES?!!!!!!!!" **

Right on cue, Casper thought, sighing as he watched his oldest uncle, Stretch, was telling his other much more younger and rather delusional and argumentative uncles, Stinky and Fatso about being completely immature about the damn remote control and how they were could give probably every ghost in the world a huge, overpowering migraine. Casper sneered at the three of them; what were they, 25 months or 25 years? He had strengthen his sarcasm gland by carefully listening and noting down whatever Stretch spouted whenever he was ranting. It'll be good for a little an-eye-for-an-eye philosophy. His train of thought was soon derailed. "Hey Short Sheet, you done making breakfast yet?" Stretch inquired after calming down a little. "Yeah, we're wasting away here," Fatso proclaimed, looking starved even though he had ate practically 5 gallons of buttered and caramelized popcorn.

Showtime, Casper sneered and whipped his checkered apron off his waist. And he did the most fatal thing possible. "No," he said solemnly. "No and not ever." Victory! Target hit! Stretch turned on him almost immediately. "What's that you just said?" He asked in a voice so venomous that the statement he said was almost enough to match the quantity of a black widow spider. Casper held his deathly glare. If looks could kill, Casper was totally lucky to be dead already. Shining violet met clouded blue. Round 2, commence! "I said: NO." Casper whispered in a tone which showed he was rebelling and loving every minute of it. Stretch was clearly taken aback and so were Stinky and Fatso. "Well, you'd better get in there and finish it!!" The self-appointed leader jabbed a finger in the direction of the kitchen. The other two members wisely backed away. After a cheesing off from Stretch, you wouldn't want a second helping.

"Why should I?" Casper asked steely. Stretch was boiling over yet again. "How about because we allow a roof over you head…" The lie made Casper's rebellion cracked as depression filled it up. "We also allow you 3 square meals a day, to go out whenever you want to and we have to care for you!!! How can you be nothing but a selfish brat who never learns how to scare even after we gave up our vacation last week to teach you…" Casper blocked out the rest of the mindless ranting after the words 'selfish brat'. They were calling him selfish. The tears were beginning to flow again. No, he couldn't cry. Not in front of the Ghostly Trio. Not ever! But the rage that was heating up inside of him was reaching the limits! So, his nerves broke.

"NO, YOU GUYS NEVER CARED!!!! WHO TAKES CARE OF THE HOUSE WHEN YOU GUYS GO ON VACATION?!!!! YOU GUYS ARE NEVER GRATEFUL TO ME AT ALL!!!! I HATE YOU!!! I HATE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!!! I WISHED YOU ALL HAD CROSSED OVER INSTEAD OF MOM AND DAD!!!! I ENVY THE CHILDREN IN THE ORPHANAGE; AT LEAST THEY DON'T HAVE TO PUT UP WITH YOU THREE FUCKERS!!!! I DON'T EVER WANT TO HEAR YOU LIE ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU LOVE ME BECAUSE YOU DON'T!!!!! WHY AM I SUCH A DISGRACE TO YOU!?!!! SURE, I'M FRIENDLY BUT STOP MAKING YOURSELVES MISERABLE AND ME TOO!!!! OR IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK FROM FUCKING IDIOTS LIKE YOU?!!!!" Casper thundered, the force and anger of his words burned with the intensity of a thousand suns. The Ghostly Trio, Stretch especially, was speechless.

Casper had never rebelled before. What was the change in the air that prompted this? And he even included curses! What was wrong with him? But what really tore his uncles apart were the fact that Casper thought they didn't love him. When they were alive, Casper was a distant relative of them. The family blood in them was so diluted, Casper thought they never existed. And when his parents died of a terrible airplane crash while flying to Australia, custody was immediately trusted to them. Yes, they might have hated Casper from the start. But they had grown to love this kind-hearted 7-year old ghost who had just now transformed into a fiery-tempered adolescent. Their love for him frightened them and as a result they begun to make Casper their personal slave. But now Casper was accusing them of not loving him. Stretch, for once, looked aghast. Especially when Casper floated away to the door.

"Don't you even think about running away!! It's hanging around with those blood balloons that have changed you!! They'll only tear you into pieces so don't even try!!" Casper stopped at that point. He wanted to smart-mouth his uncle at that point but opted to be bitter instead. "I don't think that will happen because they can't tear something you three already tore." His voice was stony and overflowed with poison. With that, he phased through the door and into the frigid winter morning. "FINE!! See if we care!!!" Stretch shouted after him. Casper ignored his sinking heart and focused on his runaway mission. After the whole sarcasm duel, the Ghostly Trio exchanged glances before they noticed some water droplet stains on the grimy floor. They perked up instantly. They were doing something they had never done before. Not even at their brother's funeral. They were crying.

Meanwhile…

Snow. Such a pretty pristine white substance. Casper smiled feebly as the gentle flakes landed on him. He fingered them carefully. After downing countless martini glasses at the local bar, he was super woozy now. He had a lot of fun today. First, with showing his uncles a piece of his mind. Second, the alcohol acted as penicillin for his depression. Third, snow was chilling him to the bone. He laughed hysterically with wild abandonment. He sprawled himself on the ice in snow angel style. Before hearing a sharp crackling sound! Oh shit.

Later…

"Are you really sure we shouldn't go looking for him?" Stinky was, secretly, worried for Casper. Teenagers nowadays do maniacal stuff. Casper might even contemplate crossing over. Stretch had a mask of coldness on. But underneath he was dying. Casper actually yelled at him after all these years of being quiet and friendly. He called them uncaring and cold-hearted. Maybe they should have given a hint about how much they loved him. Just a teeny, tiny hint of how much they would want to hold him in their arms. But they held back and locked their feelings in their hearts. What had happened with the bond between them? You're supposed to love your nephew, not hate and torture him. Fatso silently flipped through the channels with grieving silence. When…

"We interrupt this program for a special bulletin: The body of a 13-year old child has been found at Coffin's Creek at approximately 11a.m. He is now rushed to the ICU unit of the hospital. Doctors have found out that he is a depressed, drunk and abused child. Here's a picture of the casualty." The droning newspaperman gestured to a picture next to him. "Um…guys?" Fatso pointed to the screen. Stretch and Stinky watched in wide-eyed shock and horror.

"Casper."


	2. Love lost, Love found

A/N: Alright, I'm continuing 'Nephew Dearest'.

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"Whaddaya MEAN we can't see him?!!!" Stretch thundered at the trembling receptionist behind the desk who was hiding behind his Morning Post. The Ghostly Trio had immediately headed for the hospital when they heard about Casper. And when they reached there…all hell broke out. They couldn't get directions from anyone even though they reassured people they weren't trying to hurt them. A feeble senior citizen had even fallen flat when they approached her. And now this idiot wasn't allowing them to visit Casper because visiting hours were over. They were here for an urgent matter and they weren't stopping at nothing to go through the matter. Stinky tapped Stretch on the shoulder cautiously. You should be extremely careful and gentle when Stretch gets all huffed up and testy. "I'll handle this," He offered before floating over to the receptionist. "Look, we just want to see our nephew, Casper." He explained as clearly and as politely as any human could understand. The receptionist stood up shaking while straightening his paisley tie and arranging his glasses. "You're the casualty's uncles?" He clicked his pen open. All fear and helplessness had flown out the window.

"Yeah, we are," Fatso replied. The receptionist smiled, his wrinkly face amazingly lifted up because of that. He jotted down their names before clasping his hands together and eyeing them suspiciously. "You're ghosts?" He inquired, using his eyes to analyze every part of their DNA. Stretch rolled his eyes. How could fleshies be THIS stupid? "Duh, we ARE," He replied, stressing the word 'are' to its fullest. The receptionist raised his grey lined eyebrows at the reply. "I have no idea what to do; freak out, be scared or just faint." He ticked the choices of his fingers. Stretch was becoming irritated with all this stupidity. What had this 'ghost' issue got to do with seeing Casper? Stinky decided to appease him by asking again, firmly this time. "Look, allow us to see our nephew and we'll leave straight away." He decided to form a negotiation with this stubborn and rather oblivious receptionist. The human with a face of fantastically formed wrinkles appeared unfazed.

"Visiting hours are over," he stated firmly but flatly. Now it was Stinky's turn to be irritated. "Just long enough to send him this chicken soup?" He pleaded as he gestured to the chicken soup they had attempted to cook with an instant chicken soup mix. They had garnished it with spring onions to make it seem as though it were home cooked. The receptionist sat stone silent. Now, Stinky was ticked off! "Allow us in or you'll finally discover ANOTHER definition for the term 'halitosis'!! The receptionist, sensing a challenge, stood up to his full height. "You're threatening me to violate a safety procedure or disturb an emergency E.R?" He concurred bravely. Stretch intervened. "NO, YOU FUCKING IDIOT!!! WE WANT TO SEE OUR NEPHEW!!!!" He yelled right in the receptionist's drooping face. "I'm not allowing you in no matter what." He stated quietly, his arms folded. The Ghostly Trio exchanged scheming smirks. Time for Plan B!

Later,

After locking up the bounded and gagged receptionist in the toilet, they immediately started leafing through stacks of paper to find the ICU ward. They had tackled the receptionist as though he were a football dummy and dragged him to the bathroom before bounding and gagging him with sheets of 2-ply toilet paper. Hey, desperate situations call upon desperate measures. Stinky and Stretch were thumbing through files inside the file cabinets while Fatso flipped open a leaflet that read 'Recent E.R Emergencies'. "Hey, guys, I found Casper's ward!" He alerted his older brothers. Stretch snatched the leaflet and begun reading it. "Casper…13 years…ICU ward…3rd floor…left wing." After learning where Casper was located in this sanitizer-smelling jungle, they glided off. What they didn't was the fact that Casper had contracted hypothermia!

Later,

"Casper," alerted Stretch as he flew silently to Casper's side. Casper looked too horrible and gruesome to describe in mere mortal words. His normally translucent body had taken on a greenish tint and his eyes were shut. Tubes were pumping some sort of glucose substance into his frail frame. Stinky placed the thermos of chicken broth on the table and stroked Casper's head. Fatso came forth and gently caressed the kid's stomach. The Ghostly Trio felt helpless, sympathetic, depressed and afraid all at the same time! It had been 8 years since Casper lived with them and they had begun to realize that the kid was more darling to them than all the twelve wonders of the world. Casper fidgeted before rolling onto his side. The kid was in serious pain. When a ghost's paleness turned a putrid poison green, that probably meant the ghost's spirit would disintegrate and head for that huge palace in the sky. Stretch cautiously grasp his hand. It had been so long since they had ever bonded and now that distant feeling of parenthood was welling up inside the older ghost's heart. "Come on, Short Sheet. We don't want you to leave. We never did want you to. Just please get up and act friendly again." Casper's eyes fluttered open. He looked up in his eldest uncle's violet eyes. How long had he been strapped up to this hospital bed? How long had he been trapped in the foreboding ice? He grabbed his uncle's hand with tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry for running away, screaming and getting drunk. The doctor said since I'm a ghost my recuperation will be shorter than expected. Probably a couple of week's time." He assured his uncles. He glanced at the thermos of broth, his uncles' reddened and moist eyes and their trembling hands on his frame. He managed a weak smile. "So you guys DO love me?" Stretch smirked at this. "Why of course, you idiot! A ghost can only be uncaring for so long." Casper returned the smirk before flopping back on the bed and falling asleep. His uncles took this cue to leave. They floated home, unintentionally scaring passer-bys. There was no thrill though when the fleshies screamed. For when they did, they would vividly remember Casper writhing in agony at the ICU. When they saw the fleshies run, they could fantasize Casper being prodded and poked with the doctor's apparatus. It seemed as though EVERYTHING reminded them of Casper. There was definitely no doubting it. It was supposed to happen. They had loved and cherished this special little ghost.

When they returned, the house seemed as lonely and spooky as how it looked like externally. From now on they would position themselves near the telephone just in case of any news about Casper. Two weeks sailed by without a word. Finally, before they would've lost it, it rang. It was news that illuminated the sun. Casper was well again although a bit wobbly at the sides. He arrived and his uncles nearly attacked him while hugging him tightly. "You're finally A-okay!" Fatso declared, hugging Casper more gently after the ghost boy pleaded him to quit suffocating him in his blubber. Casper's face was all smiles and beams. But it fell flat instantly. "Where's Uncle Stretch?" He asked, discovering his hot-headed uncle missing. Stinky explained that Stretch had flown to the seashore for a breather and to think. He had also brought a Jack Daniels beer bottle along with a martini glass. Casper decided on a nap before looking for his uncle. He flew upstairs and flopped onto his soft mattress, sinking into the cotton sheets and falling into La-la land.

Later,

Casper awoke and floated downstairs. His uncle was still not back. As he flew outside, Casper thought of the recent events. His uncles DID love him. They were heartbroken when he fell ill. And now his uncle was drowning his guilt and sorrows in cocktails. Casper sighed heavily and shot icy glares that would freeze anything harder than the frigid atmosphere at the lake. The water under the crackling ice would only remember him of something. The day he died in water. The beach would bring back worse memories but he had to convince his uncle to stop all this drinking; it was unhealthy. But there was something else.

"It's because I love him."


	3. Nephew Dearest Forever

A/N: Finally, I finished this! I still don't own Casper

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Mermaid waves tossed the microscopic sand particles all over the beach. The salty aroma was still fresh, even as the sunset disintegrated the daylight. The beach was bathed in respectful silence. Stretch levitated somewhere near the shore and glimpsed the horizon. Fish were scattered in little herds, escaping from nets. Minute tsunamis plummeted the jagged rocks which were threatening to hole in any cruise ship foolish enough to drift towards them. Stretch grew furious at the very sight of them. It only reminded him of one terrible occasion. So terrible it couldn't match St. Helens volcanic eruption in America. That holiday down by the bay was the worst ever. The horrible memories it withheld had contained enough venom to knock out a whole orphanage! It was memory of when Casper died.

They were stupid! So stupid!! Why'd they purchased that deceptively safe 5 ft long surfboard for Casper anyway? The kid couldn't even swim yet!! If it were up to Stretch, he'd have chopped the goddamn thing into itty-bitty pieces. The holiday began on a happy melody since it was Casper's 7th birthday and his mother proposed to hold the celebration near the shore. Candles were blown out, cake was sliced and given and birthday song sung. Things were all running hunky-dory. Until the kid opened his b-day gift. Stretch cringed at the remembrance of the heated argument between Casper's dad and himself about the kid's safety, the fact that Casper was his father's custody ever since his mother walked out the front door on him and how Casper was simply too young to own a surfboard. Well, because of his quick temper, Stretch lashed out in full throttle, accusing his father of not showing his son any fatherhood or bonding. Casper's father, stunned and displeased, ordered the trio to leave.

The kid was completely confused and bewildered at these happenings. So he took the board for a test run. Without adult supervision. The trio, in total depression, started drowning their troubles with martinis and Ecstasy. Their partying ways disappeared when the kid's father phoned them. Not for apology, but for accusations. Casper was found lying motionless on the tip of a jagged boulder, drenched in saltwater and blood. It was simply too painful to watch carefully molded innocence laid as a desecration for the gods to collect him. Casper had been swimming towards a humongous wave that mocked the others. He was doing okay and managed to perch himself at the top, his arms widely spread like an eagle. It would have been a glorious sight to see. If the ankle cord around his leg got all tangled up. Casper turned sharply to untangle it but the waves mercilessly flipped the surfboard up in the air and tossed the surfboard, Casper included, a couple of feet in the air. The kid was helplessly flailing his arms and twisting his body in terror. He was headed right for the jagged rocks. It was like hours when it was truthfully only 10 minutes. The kid landed pretty...messily. The kid was dead even before his dad had a chance to phone the proper medical authorities.

He was sprawled in top of the rock, eyes half-lidded and saliva pooling near his mouth. His left arm was dislocated and bent back in a peculiar angle. His right arm was fractured at the wrist. His skull smashed against the summit and blood was flowing out profusely with bits of crumbling bone. The ligaments in the brain were severely damaged too. But what really would make you gag in revolt or weep in utter sympathy was what happened to his midriff. The kid's spleen was skewered and his intestines were pooling out of the wound. And the blood wouldn't stop leaking away. There was nothing the E.R could do. The trio was sent to reformation camp for manslaughter and in deep remorse, committed suicide in respect for Casper. And now the kid was yet again seen dying in the hospital. And it was HIS fault again! Stretch poured himself a shot of beer before letting rage to take over.

"Why didn't we do anything?!! Instead we get drunk off our asses, party all night, do Ecstasy and worse yet, seek pleasure in go-go bars while our nephew's laying in the most pitiful state on the planet, staked to death!!!! And now I got him to contract hypothermia or what the fucking hell they call it!!! What's the worse that could happen?!!!" He thundered angrily, downing the shot in one gulp. The liquid simply phased through him. Casper still loved them though. That only added more guilt and pain. Stretch settled down in self-pity, gazing at the wide open sea. It was relaxing. And that's what he needed. "It's still impossible to erase memories." He concluded bitterly, pouring himself another shot.

"It'll only be impossible if you didn't try and kept on getting drunk," A voice quipped behind Stretch. The older ghost flinched; he hoped Casper didn't hear EVERY thing he said. He pasted on a deadpanned look and turned. "You got your father's smarts and I.Q but you inherited your grandma's pep talks," He stated, shooting Casper an 'Aw-ain't-that-just-pathetic?' stare that he had perfected during all those years. The adolescent ghost rolled his eyes and floated next to his uncle. "I don't like you wasting away like this." He firmly said to his wasteful and stubborn uncle. Stretch glared at the kid; he was sure growing up now, being all rebellious and calling all the shots. "Why'd the hell did you come? You're supposed to take it easy." Casper shrugged. He didn't want to blurt out the real reason. Not yet. "Well, I got your independence and smart comments so I might as well make the most of it. I wanted to talk about the incident. And besides if we don't do it now, we still have all eternity. But I know you don't want any bullshit from me the same way I don't want any from you. So my advice is: let's do it now." Stretch cocked an eyebrow at this. Casper WAS growing up. His blatant sarcasm and colorful vocabulary were the proof.

"Alright, let's get home then," he finally conceded. Casper's face went up in sparkles. But before that he inspected the bottle of Jack Daniels. "Can I have some?" He asked, holding up one of the wine glasses. Stretch smirked; the kid was definitely learning. "Maybe." He answered teasingly before floating away. Casper eagerly followed and along the way he slipped his tiny hand into his uncle's. Stretch didn't even retaliate. Not even when Casper leaned against for warmth. Yup, this kid was his one and only. His nephew dearest.

"Forever."

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A/N: Well, you know that you have to review right so go on!


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